Lead frame package having conductive surface with integral lead finger

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a device including a lead frame having a body with a top surface and a bottom surface and lead fingers. Each lead finger has a first end and a second end. A semiconductor die is coupled to the body. A first flag is a first exposed portion of the body and integral with the first end of a first lead finger. The first flag and the first lead finger are a continuous material. A second flag is a second exposed portion of the body and integral with the first end of a second lead finger. The second flag and the second lead finger are a continuous material. An encapsulant covers the die, the bottom surface of the body, the first end of the lead fingers and a portion of the top surface of the body. The flags are separated and electrically isolated from one another by the encapsulant.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/842,379 filed on May 2, 2019 and entitled “Integrated CircuitPackage with Mounted Passive Components,” which is hereby incorporatedby reference in full.

BACKGROUND

Semiconductor dies with integrated circuits are typically encapsulatedin a package to prevent physical damage and corrosion. The packagesupports electrical contacts such as lead fingers that connect thepackage to components such as a circuit board. In applications, the sizeand capability of the package is a consideration because space islimited for the placement of packages and other devices on the samecircuit board.

SUMMARY

Disclosed is a device including a lead frame having a body with a topsurface and a bottom surface and a plurality of lead fingers. Each leadfinger has a first end and a second end. The first end is attached tothe body and the second end is in a different plane than the first endand the body. A semiconductor die is coupled to the bottom surface ofthe body. A first flag is a first exposed portion of the top surface ofthe body of the lead frame and integral with the first end of a firstlead finger of the plurality of lead fingers. The first flag and thefirst lead finger are a continuous material. A second flag is a secondexposed portion of the top surface of the body of the lead frame andintegral with the first end of a second lead finger of the plurality oflead fingers. The second flag and the second lead finger are acontinuous material. An encapsulant covers the semiconductor die, thebottom surface of the body, the first end of the plurality of leadfingers and a portion of the top surface of the body. The first flag andthe second flag are separated and electrically isolated from one anotherby the encapsulant.

Disclosed is a process for forming a lead frame from a material. Thelead frame includes a body with a top surface and a bottom surface and aplurality of lead fingers. Each lead finger has a first end and a secondend. The first end is attached to the body and the second end is in adifferent plane than the first end and the body. A first flag is a firstexposed portion of the top surface of the body of the lead frame andintegral with a first lead finger of the plurality of lead fingers. Thefirst flag and the first lead finger are a continuous material. A secondflag is a second exposed portion of the top surface of the body of thelead frame and integral with a second lead finger of the plurality oflead fingers. The second flag and the second lead finger are acontinuous material. A semiconductor die is coupled to the bottomsurface of the body and connected to the first flag and the second flag.The semiconductor die, the bottom surface of the body, the first end ofthe plurality of lead fingers and a portion of the top surface of thebody are encapsulated with an encapsulant. The first flag and the secondflag are separated and electrically isolated from one another by theencapsulant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a package, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a lead frame of the package, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the package from FIG. 1, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4A depicts a side view of the package, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 4B depicts a top view of the package, in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process for forming the package, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 6A-6D are schematics for the process for forming the package, inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the schematic for a further step in the processfor forming the package, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 8A-8E are a perspective view, front view, side view, top view andbottom view respectively, of the package with components mountedthereon, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a schematic of an example circuit configuration of thepackage, in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present embodiments disclose a package with a semiconductor die andintegrated circuit, and a process for a fabricating the package. Thepackage has exposed sections of the lead frame which are referred to asflags. The flags are a continuous material with the lead fingers and areconductive. A plurality of flags are separated and electrically isolatedfrom one another and therefore, can be used as terminals in a circuit.This enables components such as passive components or non-passivecomponents to be mechanically and electrically connected to the package.The vertical clearance above the package is utilized by mounting thecomponents on top of the package instead of inside of the package,thereby reducing the footprint of the package and the space needed on acircuit board when connecting the package to the circuit board. Theprocess utilizes a stamping method to form the lead frame, enabling theflags or conductive surfaces to be continuous with the lead fingers sothat intervening materials or connections are not needed. This reducesthe complexity of manufacturing, materials, processes and cost, andincreases the robustness and integrity of the circuit.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a package 100, in accordance with someembodiments, FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a lead frame 102 of thepackage 100, in accordance with some embodiments, and FIG. 3 shows across-sectional view of the package 100 from FIG. 1, in accordance withsome embodiments. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a lead frame 102 comprisedof metal has a body 104 with a top surface 106 and a bottom surface 108,and a plurality of lead fingers 110. In some embodiments, the body 104may be comprised of a single section or a plurality of sections whichmay or may not be attached to one another. There may be any number oflead fingers 110 arranged in different combinations depending on theapplication. The lead fingers 110 allow electrical signals to bereceived by and transmitted from one or more semiconductor dies to acircuit board, or another component.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the lead frame 102 may have six leadfingers 110-1 through 110-6 arranged with four lead fingers 110-1through 110-4 on one side of the body 104 and two lead fingers 110-5 and110-6 on the other side of the body 104. Other embodiments may includemore or fewer lead fingers 110 on each side of the body 104. Forexample, some embodiments may include eight or more lead fingers 110 oneach side of the body 104. As shown in FIG. 3, each lead finger (110-1,110-2, . . . 110-N) has a first end 112 and a second end 114. The firstend 112 of the lead finger 110 is attached to the body 104 and in someembodiments, the second end 114 is in a different plane than the firstend 112 and the body 104. For example, the second end 114 may bevertically displaced from the first end 112, laterally displaced fromthe first end 112 or both vertically and laterally displaced from thefirst end 112. A semiconductor die 116 with an integrated circuit iscoupled to the bottom surface 108 of the body 104. The coupling may bevia insulating or conductive epoxy, glue, or eutectic bonding, or othersemiconductor die bonding processes known in the art. FIG. 2 shows anexample of conductive epoxy pads 117 between the bottom surface 108 ofthe body 104 and the semiconductor die 116.

A first flag 118 is a first exposed portion of the top surface 106 ofthe body 104 of the lead frame 102. The first flag 118 is integral withthe first end 112 of a first lead finger 110-2 of the plurality of leadfingers 110. In others words, the first flag 118 and the first leadfinger 110-2 are a continuous material which is conductive. There are nointervening materials, attachment points, breaks, disruptions orinterruptions between the first flag 118 and the first lead finger 110-2because it is the same piece of material (as shown in FIG. 3). Dependingon the size of the first flag 118, other lead fingers 110 may beintegral with the first flag 118 and be part of the continuous material.Referring to FIG. 2, lead fingers 110-3 and 110-4 are also a continuousmaterial with the first flag 118. The first exposed portion of the topsurface 106 of the body 104 of the lead frame 102 (e.g., the first flag118) to the second end 114 of the first lead finger 110-2 is one pieceof material.

A second flag 120 (shown in FIG. 2) is a second exposed portion of thetop surface 106 of the body 104 of the lead frame 102 and integral withthe first end 112 (shown in FIG. 4) of a second lead finger 110-6 of theplurality of lead fingers 110. Similar to the first flag 118 and thefirst lead finger 110-2, the second flag 120 and the second lead finger110-6 are a continuous material. The second flag 120 (e.g., the secondexposed portion of the top surface 106 of the body 104 of the lead frame102) and the second lead finger 110-6 are conductive surfaces without aconnection, intermediate material, break, disruption or interruptionbetween. The second exposed portion of the top surface 106 of the body104 of the lead frame 102 (e.g., the second flag 120) to the second end114 of the second lead finger 110-6 is one piece of material.

The package 100 may also include a third flag 122 (shown in FIG. 2)which is a third exposed portion of the top surface 106 of the body 104of the lead frame 102 and integral with the first end 112 of a thirdlead finger 110-1 of the plurality of lead fingers 110. Similar to thefirst flag 118 and the first lead finger 110-2, and the second flag 120and the second lead finger 110-6, the third flag 122 and the third leadfinger 110-1 are a continuous material because it is the same piece ofmaterial. In this way, there is no need for an intervening material,attachment point, connection, break, disruption or interruption betweenthe third flag 122 and the second end 114 of the third lead finger110-1. The third flag 122 and the third lead finger 110-1 are conductivesurfaces. In further embodiments, there may be additional flags whichare exposed portions of the body 104 of the lead frame 102 and areconductive surfaces. Each additional flag is a continuous material withat least one corresponding lead finger. The additional flag and at leastone corresponding lead finger is the same piece of material.

FIG. 4A depicts a side view of the package 100, in accordance with someembodiments, and FIG. 4B depicts a top view of the package 100, inaccordance with some embodiments. The first end 112 of the lead finger110 is integral with the body 104, and the second end 114 of the leadfinger 110 extends from the package 100. For example, the lead fingers110 may be a gull wing design and foldout from the package 100 in theshape of an “L” or “J”. The second end 114 of each lead finger 110 ofthe plurality of lead fingers 110 is laterally displaced from thepackage 100 by a distance as indicated by A. The second end 114 of eachlead finger 110 of the plurality of lead fingers 110 are therefore alsolaterally displaced from the first end 112 of the plurality of leadfingers 110. The second end 114 of each lead finger 110 of the pluralityof lead fingers 110 is laterally displaced from, for example, the firstflag 118 by a distance as indicated by B. The second end 114 of the leadfinger 110 is vertically displaced from the first end 112 of the leadfinger 110 (by a distance as indicated by C) so that the first end 112and the second end 114 of the lead finger 110 are in different planes.The distances of A-C may be chosen and optimized based on the designapplication. For example, the distance A may be 1.2 mm to 1.6 mm, anddistances B and C may be 1.3 mm to 1.7 mm. In some embodiments,distances B and C may be the same. These distances are similar for theother flags 120 and 122 and corresponding the lead fingers 110.

Referring to FIG. 1, an encapsulant 126 covers or encapsulates thesemiconductor die 116, the bottom surface 108 of the body 104, the firstend 112 of the plurality of lead fingers 110 and a portion of the topsurface 106 of the body 104 forming a housing for the package 100. Theencapsulant 126 may be comprised of a composite, plastic, ceramic orglass. The encapsulant 126 helps prevent physical damage and corrosionof the semiconductor die 116 and other interior components. The firstflag 118, the second flag 120, and the third flag 122 are separate fromone another and electrically isolated from one another by theencapsulant. The flags such as the first flag 118, the second flag 120and the third flag 122— as well as any additional flags—includeconductive surfaces. The semiconductor die 116 is electrically connectedto the first flag 118, the second flag 120 and the third flag 122 bywire 124 connections (see FIGS. 2 and 3). Because the first flag 118,the second flag 120, and the third flag 122 are separated andelectrically isolated from one another, each can each serve as aterminal in an electrical circuit.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process 500 for forming the package 100, inaccordance with some embodiments, and FIGS. 6A-6D are schematics for theprocess 500 for forming the package 100, in accordance with someembodiments. At step 510 and in FIG. 6A which depicts a bottom view of alead frame 102 formed by process 500, the lead frame 102 is formed froma material. In some embodiments, the lead frame 102 is formed from ametal (e.g., copper or a copper-alloy) by a stamping process. In otherembodiments, the lead frame 102 is formed from a metal using an etchingprocess. In still yet other embodiments, the lead frame 102 is formedfrom a metal by a molding process. The lead frame 102 has been describedherein as having a body 104 with a top surface 106 and a bottom surface108. In some embodiments, the body 104 may have a plurality of sectionssuch as 104A, 104B, . . . 104N which may or may not be attached to oneanother. Each section of the body 104 is attached to at least one leadfinger 110 of the plurality of lead fingers 110. The section of the body104 and at least one lead finger 110 are a single, continuous material.For example, the body section 104A is continuous with the lead fingers110-2, 110-3, and 110-4, the body section 104B is continuous with thelead finger 110-6, the body section 104C is continuous with the leadfinger 110-1, and the body section 104D is continuous with the leadfinger 110-5. There are no intermediate materials, connections, breaks,disruptions or interruptions between the body section and at least onecorresponding lead finger.

In some embodiments, the shape of the lead frame 102 may be achieved bya stamping process where a single piece of material (e.g., copper or acopper alloy) is stamped into the desired shape. For example, the leadframe 102 may be formed with a downset or cavity which may be thelocation for mounting the semiconductor die 116. As described, each leadfinger 110 has a first end 112 and a second end 114 which can be formedin a particular way using the stamping process where a tool and diesurface forms the material into a finished, desired shape. In someembodiments, the first end 112 is attached to the body 104 and thesecond end 114 is laterally and vertically displaced from the first end112 and the body 104 (as shown in FIGS. 1-3).

The first flag 118 is formed on the lead frame 102 which is the firstexposed portion of the top surface 106 of the body section 104A of thelead frame 102 and integral with the first lead finger 110-2 of theplurality of lead fingers 110. Because the process starts with a singlepiece of material which may be then formed into the lead frame 102 bythe stamping process, the first flag 118 and the first lead finger 110-2are a continuous material. The second flag 120 is formed as a secondexposed portion of the top surface 106 of the body 104 of the lead frame102. The second flag 120 is integral with a second lead finger 110-6 ofthe plurality of lead fingers 110, and the second flag 120 and thesecond lead finger 110-6 are a continuous material. The third flag 122is formed as a third exposed portion of the top surface 106 of the body104 of the lead frame 102. The third flag 122 is integral with a thirdlead finger 110-1 of the plurality of lead fingers 110, and the thirdflag 122 and the third lead finger 110-1 are a continuous material.

The lead frame 102 may have one or more flags which are exposed portionsof the body 104 of the lead frame 102. In some embodiments, the leadframe 102 may have one or more flags of the body 104 of the lead frame102 which are not exposed (i.e., which are covered by the encapsulant126). Since the first flag 118, the second flag 120, and the third flag122 are integral with respective lead fingers 110 which are made ofmetal, the first flag 118, the second flag 120, the third flag 122 andthe respective lead fingers 110 are conductive surfaces withoutintervening material or additional connections. Moreover, each of thesecond ends 114 of the respective lead finger 110 are laterallydisplaced from the first flag 118, the second flag 120, the third flag122 and the package 100. In some embodiments, pads 128 may be formed onthe bottom surface 108 of the lead frame 102 which is the bottom surfaceof the body sections 104A-104D. The pads 128 may be formed on one ormore of the body sections 104A-104D. The pads 128 may be a silver-platedarea whereby the silver can be applied on the bottom surface of the andprocesses known in the art may be used to form the pads 128.

At step 520 and in FIG. 6B which shows a bottom view of lead frame 102formed by the process 500, the semiconductor die 116 is coupled to thebottom surface 108 of the body section 104A. This may be by a conductiveor insulating epoxy bonding process, glue, eutectic bonding process, orby another bonding process known in the art. At step 530 and in FIG. 6Cwhich shows a bottom view of the lead frame 102 formed by the process500, the semiconductor die 116 is connected by the wires 124 to the pads128 on the body sections 104A-104D. The body sections 104A-104D, in someembodiments, may correspond to a flag, such as body section 104A andflag 118, body section 104B and flag 120, body section 104C and flag122. In other words, the semiconductor die 116 is coupled to the firstflag 118, the second flag 120, and the third flag 122. This may also beby a conductive or insulating epoxy bonding process, glue, eutecticbonding process, or by another bonding process known in the art. In someembodiments, more or fewer flags of the lead frame 102 are connected tothe semiconductor die 116. For example, if other flags are present, thesemiconductor die 116 may be connected by wires 124 to each of the otherflags of the lead frame 102. As another example, in some embodiments,the semiconductor die 116 is not connected by the wires 124 to any flagsof the lead frame 102 and is only bonded to a flag of the lead frame102.

At step 540 and in FIG. 6D showing a top view of the lead frame 102formed by the process 500, the semiconductor die 116, the bottom surfaceof the body 104, the first end 112 of the plurality of lead fingers 110and a portion of the top surface 106 of the body 104 is encapsulatedwith an encapsulant 126 to form the housing of the package 100. Theflags, such as the first flag 118, the second flag 120 and the thirdflag 122 are exposed portions of the lead frame 102—specifically,portions of the top surface 106 of the body 104—and not encapsulated bythe encapsulant 126. The first flag 118, the second flag 120 and thethird flag 122 are separated from one another by the encapsulant 126. Inthis way, the first flag 118, the second flag 120 and the third flag 122are electrically isolated from one another.

The flags of the package 100 with integral lead fingers 110 areconductive surfaces and can be used in an electrical circuit, thusexpanding the capabilities of the package 100. For example, the firstflag 118 may be a first terminal of an electrical circuit and the secondflag 120 may be a second terminal of the electrical circuit. Moreover,the first flag 118 may be a first terminal of an electrical circuit andthe third flag 122 may be a second terminal of the electrical circuit.

FIG. 7 is a top view of a schematic of components 130, such as 130A and130B, mounted on the package 100, in accordance with some embodiments.The components 130A and 130B may include passive components such ascapacitors, resistors, inductors, transformers or diodes, orsemiconductor devices such as transistors, microcontrollers or dies. Thecomponents 130A and 130B may be coupled mechanically and electrically onthe package 100 utilizing the flags 118, 120, 122 which serve asterminals in an electrical circuit. In some embodiments, the component130, such as components 130A and 130B, may be mounted and electricallyconnected across the first flag 118 and the second flag 120, or acrossthe first flag 118 and third flag 122. In other embodiments, components130A and 130B may be mounted on the package 100 at the same time such asthe component 130A across the first flag 118 and the second flag 120,and the component 130B across the first flag 118 and the third flag 122.In some embodiments the components 130A and 130B may be soldered to theflags or to the top surface of the package 100. In other embodiments,the components 130A and 130B may be bonded to the flags 118, 120, 122using conductive epoxy.

FIGS. 8A-8E are a perspective view, front view, side view, top view andbottom view respectively, of the package 100 with components 130A and130B mounted thereon, in accordance with some embodiments. The process500 enables the lead frame 102 to have multiple roles such as providingstructure for the package 100, providing a mounting location for thesemiconductor die 116, providing a support surface to mount thecomponents 130A and 130B, and acting as conductive surfaces which areintegral with the lead fingers 110. For example, the exposed portions ofthe lead frame 102—the flags 118, 120, 122—are the conductive surfaceswhich are continuous or the same piece of material as the lead fingers110. The flags 118, 120, 122 being continuous with the plurality of leadfingers 110 are formed as a by-product of the stamping process withoutadding steps, complicated manufacturing or intervening materials.

In the art, conductive surfaces for connecting to components aregenerally located inside of the package and built up by a layeringprocess of conductive and insulating layers. This adds material, steps,processes and cost over the package 100 and the process 500 disclosedherein. In contrast, the package 100 and the process 500 enable theflags 118, 120, 122 which are exposed portions of the lead frame 102 tobe used as the conductive surfaces.

In the art, a component may attach to a package by using an interveningmaterial and/or added processes. For example, a component located insideor outside of the package may attach to the package via an interveningmaterial or intermediate element such as a metal in the shape of apillar or column pattern formed by using another technology suitable fordepositing, extruding, embossing, and/or forming metal, or anothersubstance suitable for forming an electrically conductive and/orthermally conductive connection. In this manner, there may be a stack oflayers, such as the connection on the component to an interveningmaterial to the connection on the package (which may or may not be theleads) which increases manufacturing complexity. In contrast, in someembodiments, the package 100 is formed with a less complex stampingprocess that does not require such intervening material, therebyreducing a cost to manufacture the package 100.

Generally, components such as passive components, are located inside ofthe package, forcing the size to the package to sprawl, which takes upmore space on a circuit board when the package is mounted to the circuitboard. The package 100 has the conductive surfaces (e.g., the flags 118,120 and 122) located on the top surface of the package 100. These areexposed portions of the lead frame 102 (e.g., the body 104) which areintegral with the lead fingers 110, and enable components 130, such ascomponents 130A and 130B, to be mounted above the package 100 instead ofinside of the package. Thus, the vertical space on the top side of thepackage 100 is utilized, thereby creating a package 100 with a smallerfootprint. Also, by mounting the components 130A and 130B outside of thepackage, components 130A and 130B (e.g., passive components) can beadded later, such as post-sale, instead of during manufacturing whichcan expand or customize the capabilities of the package 100. In thisway, the functionality of a circuit can be adapted by varying thecomponents to different boundary conditions.

In the art, packages are typically configured for one mode of operation.In order to operate in other modes, packages may be reconfigured such asby adding components. The package 100 has multiple capabilities or modesof operation using the example configuration as disclosed. For example,the package 100 has a single lead frame 102 and with this configuration,the lead finger can be connected to a flag only, or to a semiconductordie only, or to a flag and a semiconductor die.

FIG. 9 is a schematic of a portion of an example circuit configurationof the package 100, in accordance with some embodiments. For example, aself-driven active clamp circuit 900 may be in the package 100. Thecapacitors C3 and C4 and/or the diode D3 may be passive componentsmounted on the top of the package 100. In other embodiments, the diodeD3 may be a semiconductor device mounted on the top of the package 100.The active clamp circuit 900 may include an active clamp switchcontroller circuit 902 which provides an active clamp switch controlsignal to the active clamp switch M3 via a gate driver circuit 904.

In further embodiments, three or more passive components may be mountedon the package 100 depending on the number of flags and designapplication. The present embodiments may be applied to other packagessuch as small outline integrated circuit packages (SOIC), small-outlineJ-leaded packages (SOJ), thin-shrink small-outline packages (TSSOP),thin quad flat packages (TQFP) or the like.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device comprising: a lead frame having a bodywith a top surface and a bottom surface and a plurality of lead fingers,each lead finger having a first end and a second end, the first endbeing attached to the body and the second end being in a different planethan the first end and the body; a semiconductor die coupled to thebottom surface of the body; a first flag being a first exposed portionof the top surface of the body of the lead frame and integral with thefirst end of a first lead finger of the plurality of lead fingers,wherein the first flag and the first lead finger are a continuousmaterial; a second flag being a second exposed portion of the topsurface of the body of the lead frame and integral with the first end ofa second lead finger of the plurality of lead fingers, wherein thesecond flag and the second lead finger are a continuous material; and anencapsulant covering the semiconductor die, the bottom surface of thebody, the first end of the plurality of lead fingers and a portion ofthe top surface of the body, wherein the first flag and the second flagare separated and electrically isolated from one another by theencapsulant.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the first flag and thesecond flag are conductive surfaces.
 3. The device of claim 1, whereinthe semiconductor die is electrically connected to the first flag andthe second flag.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the second end ofeach lead finger of the plurality of lead fingers is laterally displacedfrom the first flag and the second flag.
 5. The device of claim 1,wherein the first flag is a first terminal of an electrical circuit andthe second flag is a second terminal of the electrical circuit whenelectrically connected to a component.
 6. The device of claim 5, whereinthe component is a capacitor, resistor, inductor, transformer, diode,transistor, microcontroller or die.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein acomponent is mechanically coupled to the first flag and the second flag.8. The device of claim 1, further comprising a third flag being a thirdexposed portion of the top surface of the body of the lead frame andintegral with the first end of a third lead finger of the plurality oflead fingers, wherein the third flag and the third lead finger are acontinuous material.
 9. The device of claim 8, wherein the semiconductordie is electrically connected to the third flag.
 10. The device of claim8, wherein the first flag is a first terminal of an electrical circuitand the third flag is a second terminal of the electrical circuit whenelectrically connected to a component.
 11. The device of claim 8,wherein a component is mechanically coupled to the first flag and thethird flag.
 12. The device of claim 8, wherein a first component isconnected to the first flag and the second flag, and a second componentis connect to the first flag and the third flag at the same time.
 13. Aprocess comprising: forming a lead frame from a material, the lead framecomprising: a body with a top surface and a bottom surface and aplurality of lead fingers, each lead finger having a first end and asecond end, the first end being attached to the body and the second endbeing in a different plane than the first end and the body; a first flagbeing a first exposed portion of the top surface of the body of the leadframe and integral with a first lead finger of the plurality of leadfingers, wherein the first flag and the first lead finger are acontinuous material; and a second flag being a second exposed portion ofthe top surface of the body of the lead frame and integral with a secondlead finger of the plurality of lead fingers, wherein the second flagand the second lead finger are a continuous material; coupling asemiconductor die to the bottom surface of the body; connecting thesemiconductor die to the first flag and the second flag; andencapsulating the semiconductor die, the bottom surface of the body, thefirst end of the plurality of lead fingers and a portion of the topsurface of the body with an encapsulant; wherein the first flag and thesecond flag are separated and electrically isolated from one another bythe encapsulant.
 14. The process of claim 13, wherein the forming of thelead frame is by a stamping process.
 15. The process of claim 13,wherein the first flag and the second flag are conductive surfaces. 16.The process of claim 13, wherein the second end of each lead finger ofthe plurality of lead fingers is laterally displaced from the first flagand the second flag.
 17. The process of claim 13, further comprisingconnecting a component to the first flag and the second flag, whereinthe first flag is a first terminal of an electrical circuit and thesecond flag is a second terminal of the electrical circuit.
 18. Theprocess of claim 17, wherein the component is a capacitor, resistor,inductor, transformer, diode, transistor, microcontroller or die. 19.The process of claim 13, further comprising forming a third flag, thethird flag being a third exposed portion of the top surface of the bodyof the lead frame and integral with a third lead finger of the pluralityof lead fingers, wherein the third flag and the third lead finger are acontinuous material.
 20. The process of claim 19, wherein the third flagis separated and electrically isolated from the first flag and thesecond flag by the encapsulant.